Fencepost



UNITED stares] PATENT. CE,

HARRY I-I. nownnn, or HOPE, ARKANSAS,

j I rEnonros-T.

To all whom it may concemi Be it known that I, HARRYH. HOWELL, a

citizen of the United States, residin at I I tate of Arkansas, have inventeda new and use- Hope, in the county of Hempstead and fill Fenceposh of which the following is a specification,

This invention relates to novel and useful improvements in fence posts and more particularly to metallic'fence posts adapted to be driven into the ground forstringing wires in the construction of fences, the posts beingprovided with means for attaching the wire thereto. T f i T A further and more important object of the invention is to provide novel means whereby when a fence postis ClIIVGIllDtO the ground, it be caused to line uprproperly and perfectly with the remaining posts or adjacent posts of a fence, and so that turning or twisting of the posts or defleQ-f, tion thereof from a perpendicular course or position will be prevented, said means also serving to form a post anchoring means to.

firmly retain the post in position.

With the above and other objects in VlQW' which will appearas thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combinatlon and arrangement ofparts and in the details of construction hereinaften described and claimed, 1t oeingunderstood that, with;

in the scope of what is claimed], changes in the precise embodiment of the invention showncan be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. r In the accompanyingdrawings:

I Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved fence post; 7 V

Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof in one positiog as when being driven into the ground; an

Fig. 3 is a sectional view at right angles to Fig. 2 and showing the'post completely driven into the ground.

Referring to the drawings indetail, in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 10 designates the post proper. which is made of angle iron or steel, the sides or flanges 11 and 12 of which are disposed preferably at right angles to each other, or other suitable angular relation. One of the flanges is provided with vertically alined spaced openings 13 preferably elongated or slotted to receive staples or other suitable form of securing means for .Specificationof Letters Patent. 7 jP2Li7G11iTed NOV. 23, 1920. Application-filed October 2 5, 1919. S eri a1 No. 333,1t' 2. l

attachingithe fence wires thereto. It is obvious, however, that any other suitablefaseach'flange'near the lower end ofthe ,post' and spaced apart one above the-other, are substantial triangular or tapered platesflti and -16, the same-being riveted or secured to the side flanges near their upper andlower ends as shownat, 17-.;-

The plates 15 and lfi, are dispos'ed with their wide 'edges onends uppermost and their tapered ends downwardly, said tapered ends being preferably truncated or cut off as indicated at 18, so that: asthese,

plates enter the ground, nopsharp tapered points will be presented to permit the angular relation of thepost'to a line of posts .to be changed, by turning on twisting of the posts. If these-ends were extremelytapered there will be atendencyfor possiblhty of the plates turning in either L direction, and'therefore the'lowerends are severedorcut offso that to present. a straight edge tending to reroots or the like. 7 I 1 The principal objection to all metal fence posts is that it is a hard matter to drive them so that'they will line up perfectly and it will be seen that this objection is overcome by the present invention by reason of the two triangular plates or anchors rigidly secured or riveted to the legs of theangle so posed in alinement with the other posts and wires tobe strung, the lower plate 16 will enter the ground and act as a pilot so'tha't if the post is not in a perfectlv upright position, it can be trued up at this point and before the second plateor anchor enters the 8 5 sist turning of'the posts .whendri-ven into l the ground except, under thev action; of an extraordinary obstruction 'otherqthan the earth itself, such as a large stone or boulder,

ground in an untrue position. The first plate being caused to enter the ground properly, the space between the plates will permit the post to be easily turned so'that the post may be set true. before the second plate enters the ground incorrectly and thereafter serves in conjunction with the first plateto firmly anchor the posts and prevents swaying thereof in either direction or loosing or displacement of the post partly or entirel The postis preferably made of high carbon steel angle,'l%7 by 1% by in size and of any length to suit .the height desired, and

the plates forming the anchor are preferably of perfectly flat steel plates preferably stoclrso as to give the required rigidity to permit the post to be driven into the hardest ground wlth ease. The upper I plate or anchor is preferably located with its lower point at least 4 above the top edgeof the lower anchor but on the opposite leg, both platesbeing secured against the outer faces and intermediately of their widths. Iain aware that posts have been provided with anchors somewhat similar to the described but said anchors have been provided with a bead, distortion, projecting wing, offset angle, or a variation from the straight plane along the top er go of either of these anchors, but Wlll leave a wide loose path of earth in its wake or above the same when driven intothe ground, and will n1aterially hamper the operation of driving in hard orgravel-ly soil in addition to permitting thepost to get loose quickly. By having the plates fiat this is prevented and as much resistance is offered in one direction asin theother so that the post will withstand any reasonable amount of strain.

'Also, the second or topmost anchor being driven into the ground'so that its top edge is just below the surface, and the fact that its flat surface is riveted to thepost on the opposite leg of the angle from the one which carries the slotted holes that receives the staples, andfurther the fact that the two anchors are set considerable distance apart -placing one at the bottom of the hole and t-he other at the top of the hole, serves to make a very rigid setting, and one that will withstand any reasonable amount of strain from either direction. Another feature of this double anchor construction is that the post will never spiral when driving into the earth, thus leaving the face of the leg of angle at the front of posts, some a little out of line in one direction and some in another. as

is the case where a single anchor is used or a full lower anchor and a half upper ansecured to the respective sides of the post, the lower edge of the upper plate being spaced above the upper edge of the lower plate and both plates having their lower ends cut off horizontally. I

Q. The combination with a post having two of its faces disposed at an a igle to each other, of a flat plate secured to each of said faces, the lower end of one plate being spaced above the upper edge of the other plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I haveghereto afiixed my signature n the presence of two witnesses;

I I HARRY H. HO :VVitnesses 7 Rory ANDERSON,

. B. RILnY. 

